Car-seal.



W.' v. GooDNoW. GAR SEAL.

APPLIGATIQN FILED JAN. 9, 1909.

946,997. Patented` Jan'. 18, 1910.

Unir

STAT i T/VILLIAIVI V. GOODNOV, OF ATLANTA, GEORGIA.

CAR-SEAL.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. i8, 1910.

Application filed January 9, 1909. Serial No. 471,375.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that l, `WILLIAM V. GOOD- Now, of Atlanta, in the county of Fulton and State of Georgia, have invented a new and useful Car-Seal, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to seals for box cars and the like, and has for its object to provide a check upon the sealing of the cars for the purpose of insuring a proper impression or application of the letters, numerals, or other data comprising the seal, thereby to reduce to a minimum what are known as imperfect seals, that is to say seals which are not perfectly legible or readable.

Under the present practice of sealing box cars on railroads, a very large proportion of the impressions upon the soft lead seals are imperfect, and, therefore, it is practically impossible to tell whether or not the car has been opened since being sealed by a mere examination of the seal. ln view of this condition railroads are experiencing heavy losses by thefts from the cars during transit as well as when standing in yards. T his is due to the fact that while the seals are eX- amined when the train is made up and also at designated stops, and a record of the seals taken, the only thing done about an iinperfect seal is to record it as an imperfect seal. When a car having an imperfect seal is opened, and it is found that it has been robbed, there is absolutely nothing to locate the stopping points between which the car was robbed, because it cannot be told from the imperfect seal where the car was sealed nor at what point it was first noted as imperfect.

In view of the foregoing statement, it is the purpose of the present invention to improve the ordinary seal as now in common use upon railroads, by equipping the seal with a perfectly legible and readable duplicate of the sealing figures, letters or data which is impressed upon the lead seal at the time of sealing the car. By the employment of this check, the party who actually seals the car must of necessity taire pains to see that the sealing impression is perfectly legible and corresponds in every detail with the duplicate impression which has been applied to the seal by or under the supervision of some official, agent or responsible employee of the railroad company prior to the handing out of the seals for application to the cars. By this procedure, when all of the cars of a train have been sealed there must of necessity be a perfectly legible and readable impression made upon each and every seal and there must be exact correspondence between each seal and the check thereon. At each or certain designated stops, the seals are examined according to present practice, and if there be any imperfect seals or any discrepancies whatever between a seal and its duplicate or check, it is not merely reported as an imperfect seal but the mattei' is immediately investigated, and the blame .immediately placed upon the individual who sealed the car, it being possible to accurately locate the sealing point of the car by means of the numbers, letters or data upon the duplicate or check.

NVith these and other objects in view, the present invention consists in the combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter more fully described, shown in the accompanying drawings and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes in the forni, proportion, size and minor details may be made, within the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any or the advantages of the invention.

nigure l is a perspective view of a seal equipped with the present invention. liig. 2 is a plan View of the sealing strip blanli. lfig. 3 1s a view of another forni of seal having the present invention applied thereto. ltig. d is a View of lfig. 3 before being actually sealed. ltigs. 5 and o are detail views of seal elements which may be used in connection with the present invention. Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating a modification of the invention. liig. 8 is a sectional view of Fig. 7.

Lilie characters of reference indicate corresponding parts .in each of the several ligures of the drawings.

The present improvement is not a seal in the sense that it. has a sealing function, wherefore it will be understood that this invention is applicable to any seal having a sealing element adapted to receive iinpressions from a die. The seals illustrated in the accompanying drawing have been selected merely as types, and their particular form is not essential to the present invention. However, l have shown an improvement in the metal strip of the seal shown in Figs. l and 2.

Referring at first to Figs. 1 and 2, l designates a fiat metal strip of the usual size and proportions. One end of this strip is provided with an opening 2, and this end is adapted to be thrust through a slit or slot 3 formed in the other end portion of the strip as illustrated in F ig. 1. It will of course be understood that, in applying the seal, it is customary to pass one end of the seal through the locking staples, and then to thrust the perforate end of the seal through the slit or slot 3 and afterward to insert a metal button, such as shown at 4 in Fig. 5 into the opening 2, after which a sealing press is employed to upset the shank of the button and to impress suitable letters, figures or other data upon each or one end of the button so as to complete the seal. To open the car door, it is necessary either to break` the strip 0r body of the seal or to remove the sealing element.

lilith a seal constructed and applied as above explained, it is apparent that if the sealing press is not properly manipulated, the sealing impression will be imperfect, and after the car goes out on the road there is nothing to indicate where it is sealed or whether or not the seal had been tampered with after being originally sealed.

As hereinbefore set forth, it is the purpose of the present invention to insure the proper impression of the sealing data, and to accomplish this feature. that end of the metal body or strip l which has the slit or slot 3 is also provided with an opening 5 located between the slit and the adjacent end of the body, for the reception of a soft metal button (5, which is a duplicate of the button a, and is subjected to action of the same press to which the button 4 was subjected.

It will of course be understood that the railroad furnishes its agent or other employee in chaige of a station with seals and a single sealing press. In accordance with this invention, it is the duty of such agent or other employee to see that the check button or member 6 is applied to the body of the seal and subjected to the press so as to obtain a perfectly legible or readable impression of the dies before the seal is given to the party who actually applies the same to a car, and it will be the duty of the sealer to take pains in using the press upon the sealing button 4: to obtain a perfectly readable and legible impression corresponding in every detail to the check or duplicate impression upon the button 6.

When a car has been sealed in accordance with the present invention, it is apparent that the sealing characters must of necessity be perfectly legible or readable, and so long as the actual seal and its duplicate remain in their perfect condition it is a clear indication that the car has not been robbed. 1f,

however, there is any imperfection whatsoever shown by the seal or the check, as will necessarily appear when the seal and check are compared by the party who is checking up the cars at any stop or in any yard, it is an indication that the car has been tampered with, and instead of merely reporting an imperfect seal the matter is immediately brought to the attention of the proper authorities and investigated. 1f it is either the check or the seal which is imperfect, the other will clearly indicate where the car was sealed, and therefore it is apparent that the car must have been tampered with between the point of sealing and the point where the imperfection vas first noted. Upon inquiry along' the line, if it is determined that thc seal and the check were correct up to the last stopping point, then the seat of the trouble has been located between two stopping points. ln such cases where the car passes over more than one line, if a complaint of robbery is made, the responsibility can be fixed upon the company on whose line the robbery actually took place, as shown by the records of the several lines.

By the employment of the present invention, an absolute record of car seals may be maintained, a thing which is impossible under present practice. This is true because in the present practice there is nothing to insure the proper impression of the sealing characters, whereas in accordance with the present invention each agent or other employee in charge of the seals at any particular station is responsible for the impression upon the check or duplicate, while the party actually sealing the car is responsible for the impression upon the sealing element, and therefore each party, to protect himself, must of necessity see that the impressions are made perfect, as otherwise he will be held responsible for any losses due to robbery, and also for imperfect impressions although no loss or robbery may actually take place.

I have shown my invention applied to another form of seal as illustrated in Fic'. 3, wherein, instead of passing one end of the sealing strip through a slot in the other end, the end portions of the strip 7 are connected together by means of a soft metal sealing button or element 8 which passes through registering openings in the strip and is upset and impressed by a sealing press in the usual manner. In applying my invention, in addition to the usual openings 9 and 10, I locate one of said openings, say the opening 10, some distance from the adjacent end of the strip, and provide another opening 11 between the opening 10 and the adjacent end of the strip, said opening 11 being designed for the reception of a duplicate or check button or element 12, which is subjected to the action of -the press so as to obtain a perfect impression as hereinbefore described.

In connection with the form shown in Figs. l and 2, I have made an improvement in the seal itself Which consists in reinforcing the slotted end of the strip or body l. This is accomplished by making the slotted end of the strip twice its ordinary width, thereby providing a flap 13 Which has a slit 3 and an opening 5a which register, respectively, with the slit 3 and opening 5 When the flap is folded over upon the body of the seal.

From the foregoing description, it Will be understood that my invention is a duplex seal as Well as a record seal. It is a record seal because it records Where the car Was sealed, and it must of necessity be legible or readable. It is a duplex seal in that if any imperfection appears therein it may be an indication that the car has been tampered with, and in any event it shows that the agent or employee responsible for the impression has been negligent. Moreover, it operates as a check, in that when a conductor or other employee goes over the train to make a record of the conditions of the seals, he must compare each seal with its duplicate or cheek, it being his duty to report upon the condition of the seal and its duplicate or check and to cause an investigation if there are any discrepancies between the seal and the check or if there be any imperfection in either of them.

Instead of employing a separate button or check member as illustrated in Figs. l and 3, I also contemplate impressing the sealing data and the duplicate thereof or either of them directly upon the body of the seal. In carrying out this form of the invention, as shown in Figs. 7 and 8, I propose to provide one or both ends of the strip or body with a soft metal tip 1.4 which is capable of being subjected to the action of the sealing press so as to receive the impression of the dies thereof and to produce the seal or the duplicate thereof directly upon the body of the seal. The enlarged tip may be provided by dipping the strip or otherwise coating it With a soft metal capable of receiving impressions from a die.

`While I have shown the openings 2 and 5 of rectangular form in Fig. 2 and the openings 9, 10 and 1l circular in FiO. 4l, it Will of course be understood that the shape of these openings is unimportant and may be varied at Will according to the shape of the shank of the lead seal and the duplicate thereof which are to be used.

What is claimed is l. A car sealing strip having a slit for the reception of one end portion of the strip to form a loop, and each end portion of the strip having` an opening for the reception of a soft member capable of receiving impressions from a sealing press.

2. A ear seal comprising a sealing strip provided With a slit` for the reception of one end portion of the strip to form a loop, each end portion of the strip having an opening, and soft metal elements for engagement With the respective openings and capable of receiving impressions from a sealing press.

3. A car seal comprising a fleXible strip or body provided in one end portion With an opening for the reception of a seal member and in its other end portion With a slit for the reception of the first-mentioned end of the strip, the slit end of the strip having a lateral extension or flap capable of being folded over upon the adjacent body portion of the strip and provided with a slit to register with the slit in the strip, the strip and flap also being provided with registering openings.

4. A car seal consisting of a flexible strip or body provided in one end portion With an opening for the reception of a seal inember and in its other end portion With a slit for the reception of the first-mentioned end of the strip, the slit end of the strip having a lateral extension or flap capable of being folded over upon the adjacent body portion of the strip and provided With a slit to register With the slit in the strip.

A. ear seal including a sealing strip provided at each end With an opening, and impression-receiving elements adapted for insertion in the respective openings.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto setmy hand.

VILLIAM V. GOODNOl/V.

lVitnesses M. J. VARRINER, II. M. BALDWIN. 

